Sarath Nanda Silva PC served as the 41st Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka.
A president's counsel is an eminent lawyer who is appointed by the President of Sri Lanka as an individual "learned in the law". The term is an honorific that replaced the Queen's Counsel (QC),which Sri Lanka ceased appointing when it became a republic in 1972. It is equivalent to the appointment of a King's Counsel in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms,and that of Senior Counsel in Commonwealth republics,bearing the same privileges,such as sitting within the Bar of court.
The chief justice of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is the head of the judiciary of Sri Lanka and the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. Established in 1801,the chief justice is one of ten Supreme Court justices;the other nine are the puisne justices of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. The post was created in 1801. The chief justice is nominated by the Constitutional Council,and appointed by the president. The first chief justice was Codrington Edmund Carrington. The current chief justice is Murdu Nirupa Fernando.
The attorney general of Sri Lanka is the Sri Lankan government's chief legal adviser,and its primary lawyer in the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. The attorney general is usually a highly respected senior advocate,and is appointed by the ruling government. The current attorney general is Parinda Ranasinghe Jnr. The president does not have any power to make orders,mandatory or otherwise,to the attorney general. He heads the Attorney General's Department which is the public prosecutor.
An Attorney at law in Sri Lanka is the only legal practitioners authorised to represent others in all court of law in the island and are also authorised to give advice regarding any matter of law. Alternative terms include lawyer.
The Attorney General's Department is a non-ministerial government department in Sri Lanka that supports the attorney general and his/her deputy the solicitor general. The department is headed by the attorney general and comes under the purview of the Ministry of Justice. The office of "Attorney General" was formally adopted in the year 1884.
Saleem Marsoof,PC is a Sri Lankan judge and lawyer. He is a judge of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka and former President of the Court of Appeal. He is also a non-resident Justice of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Fiji.
Rear Admiral Sarath Palitha Fernando,PC,VNF is a Sri Lankan lawyer. He is the former Attorney General of Sri Lanka and had served as Solicitor General of Sri Lanka and Judge Advocate of the Sri Lanka Navy.
Kanagasabapathy J. Sripavan is a Sri Lankan Tamil lawyer and judge. He was Deputy Solicitor General,judge and president of the Court of Appeal,Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka and the 44th Chief Justice of Sri Lanka.
Sir Thomas Forrest Garvin II,KC was a Ceylonese judge and lawyer. He was a judge of the Supreme Court of Ceylon and Solicitor General of Ceylon.
Victor Tennekoon QC was a Sri Lankan lawyer and jurist. He served as the 35th Chief Justice of Sri Lanka,as well as the 33rd Attorney General and 23rd Solicitor General. From 1979 to 1984 Tennekoon served as Chancellor of the University of Peradeniya.
Hugh Norman Gregory Fernando,OBE was Sri Lanka lawyer and judge. He was the 33rd Chief Justice of Ceylon and had served as Legal Draftsman of Ceylon.
Priyasath Dep PC is a Sri Lankan judge and lawyer. He was the 45th Chief Justice of Sri Lanka and a former Solicitor General of Sri Lanka.
Shanthi Eva Wanasundera PC is a Sri Lankan judge and lawyer. She is a former puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. Prior to her appointment as puisne justice,in 2012,she served as Solicitor General and Attorney General of Sri Lanka.
Raja Sirimevan Wanasundera PC was a Sri Lankan judge who served as a Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka and the 27th Solicitor General of Sri Lanka.
Anil Goonaratne is a Sri Lankan judge and lawyer. He is a former judge of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka,having served as a judge of the Court of Appeal and Additional Solicitor General.
Justice S. W. B. Wadugodapitiya,PC is a Sri Lankan judge. He was a Judge of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka and had served as the Acting Chief Justice. He was also the 33rd Solicitor General of Sri Lanka.
Yasantha Kodagoda is a Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. He was called to the Bar as an Attorney-at-Law of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka on 28 October 1988. Prior to being appointed by the President of Sri Lanka as the President of the Court of Appeal in March 2019,he served as an Additional Solicitor General of the Attorney General's Department. Having joined the Attorney General's Department of Sri Lanka in 1989 as a State Counsel,he rose to the positions of Senior State Counsel (1999),Deputy Solicitor General (2005),Senior Deputy Solicitor General (2014) and Additional Solicitor General (2015). He has 30+ years of experience as a Public Prosecutor and Legal Advisor to the Government of Sri Lanka. His specialization is in the field of criminal justice. In 2015,in recognition of his eminence in the legal profession,he was appointed President's Counsel. He completed his primary and secondary education at Ananda College Colombo he was a president Scout of ananda college and then attended Sri Lanka Law College. He obtained Master's degree in Public International Law with Merit (LL.M.) from the University College London (UCL) He acted as the Director of the Advanced Legal Studies Unit of the Sri Lanka Law College and the Director of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies of the Incorporated Council of Legal Education. He has served many Commissions of Inquiry as representative Counsel of the Attorney General. For over a decade,he has represented Sri Lanka before the UN Human Rights Commission and the UN Human Rights Council. He has also represented Sri Lanka before the UN Security Council's Working Group on Children in Armed Conflict,and has served as the Accredited Representative of the Government of Sri Lanka at the UN Committee Against Torture. He was a member of the EU-Sri Lanka Working Group on Trade and Economic Relations Cooperation 2016 and actively participated in Sri Lanka gaining the GSP+ trade concessions. Kodagoda is known as a book reviewer
Jayantha Chandrasiri Jayasuriya,PC is a lawyer who served as the 47th Chief Justice of Sri Lanka from April 2019 to October 2024. Jayasuriya was approved by the Constitutional Council on the 26 April 2019 and sworn in three days later on the 29 April,succeeding Chief Justice Nalin Perera. He previously served as the 45th Attorney General of Sri Lanka. While serving as Attorney General Jayasuriya defended the sacking of the Prime Minister by the President of Sri Lanka but was over-ruled by the Supreme Court. Jayasuriya controversially requested an extension of the term of office of President Sirisena prior to being made Chief Justice. The Supreme Court overruled that request.
Dappula de LiveraPC is a Sri Lankan lawyer and the former Attorney General of Sri Lanka. He previously served as the Solicitor General of Sri Lanka from February 2018 and took over as acting attorney general from 29 April 2019 until his formal appointment in May 2019.
